Streamline rail joint



May 4, 1937. M. SLYDER STREAMLINE RAIL JOINT Filed April 9, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l r1 i x fimv l 0 7 w 1 y, .1w f1, i/a 0 A 2 a ,0

M. SLYDER May 4, 1937.

STREAMLINE RAIL JOINT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1956 Patented ay 4, 1937 STATES PATENT rice 5 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in rail joints and it consists in the constructions, combinations, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a rail joint in which the ends of the rails are provided with a locking member which spans the joint and gives a bridging connection so as to streamline the tread of the rails at the joints to permit the smooth riding of the wheel over the joint without the usual jar that accompanies traverse of the wheel over the ordinary joint.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the type described in which the bridging means is associated with one of the fish plates in such a manner that it can be easily applied.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rail jointin which the wear and tear which usually occurs not only at the joints but also on the rolling stock itself is eliminated.

A further object is to produce a rail joint which allows greater speed with more safety.

A further object is to produce a rail joint that will assist very materially in eliminating the swaying of trains.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple device for accomplishing the abovementioned purposes.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings forming part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a streamline rail joint forming one embodiment of my invention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged section substantially along the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the fish plates,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of sections of the ends of two rails, and,

Figure 5 is a perspective View of a portion of the rail chair.

In carrying out my invention I make use of rails having ends formed as those shown in Figure 4. In this figure 6 indicates the tread of the rails, I the web, and 8 the rail base. As will be observed, the tread oi abutting ends is extended and is provided with registering slots 9.

Each rail end has a cut-away portion II to the lower portion 6 of the tread.

provide shoulders l2 in the web of the rail. The base of the rail on each side of the web is cut away, as shown at I3, to provide for fish plates. Bolt openings M are provided in the webs.

In Figure 3 I have shown one of the fish plates. It consists of a web portion l5 having an outwardly and upwardly curved flange I6 which fits The fish plates merge at their bottoms into a base portion ll.

Formed integrally with the fish plate shown in Figure 3 is a bridging member H! which is designed to fit within the registering slots 9 of the rails One side of the bridging member is beveled so as to facilitate the assembly of the fish plate, shown in Fig. 3, and the rails.

In Figure 3 I have shown a rectangular memher 2! which, however, is not secured to the web l5 of the fish plate but is adapted to be placed in the position shown in Figure 3 when the plates are assembled. Openings 22 are provided in the web of the fish plate.

A companion fish plate having a web 23, an enlarged flange 24, and a base similar to the base H, is provided, the only difference between the fish plate on the inside and that on the outside of the rail (the outside plate is in full view in Figure 1) being in the omission of the bridging member I 9 which is carried by the inner fish plate.

In- Figure 5 I have shown a rail chair consisting of a plate 25 having abutments 26, the rail base being receivable between the abutments, and spike openings 21 being provided which extend through the abutments 26 and the plate 25.

In assembling this joint the rail chair is placed on the tie such as that shown at 28. The bases 8 of the ends of the rails are laid in the chair. The inner fish plate is brought up to the sidesof the rails and the bridging member is inserted in the slots 9, the cut-away portions H receiving the bridging member which is so proportioned as to be positioned in alignment with the web of the rails.

In order to permit the fish plates to come close to the rail the cut-away portions l3 are provided. The rectangular member 2| is placed in position, the outer fish plate is placed in position, and a bolt 29 is passed through the opening IS of the bridging member l9 (see Fig. 3) and a bolt 30 is passed through an opening 2| in the member 2|. Bolts 3| are passed through the registering bolt holes 14 and 22 thus holding the members securely together.

Spikes 32 are driven in, thus completing the joint.

A joint made as described has the advantage of providing a bridging member which can be 5 readily inserted in position and which will tie the rails together as well as affording a smooth supporting streamline surface for a wheel when traversing the joint, thus eliminating the shock and wear and tear. The fish plates not only hold the rail ends together but they receive the bases of the rails at the cut-away portions l3, so that they hold the rails from vertical movement as well as from lateral movement. It will be observed that the outer lower edges of the fish plates rest against the abutments 26 and that the lower portions of the tread rest on the extensions such as those shown at l6 and 24. The fish plates therefore in addition to binding the rails also tend to support the tread.

The present day joints are run over alternately and trains are thrown from one side to the other by the joints as well as by depressions in the roadbed. The fact that the joint is smooth tends to obviate this swaying to a large extent. In the ordinary rail joint the tread of the rail is usually worn for an inch or so from the ends, thus forming an angularly or slightly curved end portion which tends to be further worn by each passage of the train. A joint constructed in accordance with the present invention would eliminate this.

Tamping will not affect the joint in any way.

The construction described forms a compact, strong rail joint. There is of course provision made for expansion and contraction as, for instance, at the ends of the bridging member and between the ends of the rails but this expansion and contraction can take place without loosening the joint.

'I have named or called the rail joint invention of mine,'Streamline rail joint, due to the fact that I have constructed the bridging member so as to produce a perfect streamline on the top surface of the rails .at the joints, permitting 45 smooth running of trains over the joints.

I claim:

1. The combination with a pair of rail ends having registering slots in the webs, said slots extending substantially the full height of the 50 webs', of a fish plate having an integral bridging member adapted to enter the registering slots, means insertable in the slots under the bridging member and substantially filling the slots, and

means associated with the rails and fish plate for 55 binding them together.

2. The combination with a pair of rail ends having registering centrally disposed longitudinal slots in the treads and having registering cut-away portions in the webs thereof, of a fish 0 platehaving a bridging member provided with an extension arranged to enter the registering slots in the treads, the main body portion of the bridging member being disposed within the registering, cut-away portions of the webs, the cut-away portions extending substantially the full height of the webs, and means insertable in the slots under the bridging member and substantially filling the slots.

3. The combination with a pair of rail ends having registering centrally disposed longitudinal slots in the treads and having registering cut away portions in the webs thereof, said cut-away portions extending for substantially the height of the webs, of a fish plate having a bridging member arranged to enter the registering slots, the main body portion of the bridging member being disposed within the registering cut-away portions of the webs, means insertable in the slots under the bridging member and substantially filling the slots, a second fish plate on the opposite side of the rails, and means including bolts for binding the rail ends and the fish plates together.

4. The combination with a pair of rail ends having registering centrally disposed longitudinal slots in the treads and having registering cutaway portions in the webs thereof, said cutaway portions extending substantially the height of the web, of a fish plate having a bridging member .arranged to enter the registering slots, the main body portion of the bridging member being disposed within the registering cut-away portions of the webs, a filler member in the slots under the bridging member and in combination with the bridging member adapted to support the load at the joint and convey it to the base, a second fish plate on the opposite side of the rails, and means including bolts for binding the rail ends and the fish plates together, the lower edges of each of said fish plates being provided with slots for receiving a portion of the base of the rail.

5. The combination with a pair of rail ends having registering centrally disposed longitudinal slots in the treads and having registering cut-away portions in the webs thereof, of a fish plate having a bridging member .arranged to enter the registering slots, the main body portion of the bridging member being disposed Within the registering cut-away portions of the webs, said cut-away portions extending substantially the full height of the webs, a metallic block insertable in the cut-away portions beneath the bridging member and substantially filling that section of the cut-away portion which has not been filled by the bridging member, a second fish plate on the opposite side of the rails, means including bolts for binding the rail ends and the fish plates together, the lower edges of each of said fish plates being provided with slots for receiving a portion of the base of the rail, and a rail chair for receiving other portions of the rails.

MERRILL SLYDER. 

